On the forefront in the advancement of the home entertainment industry is the convergence of home entertainment components into one system. PCs, TVs, DVDs, CD players, EPGs (Electronic Program Guides), tuners, etc., are being integrated to form a single entertainment system, namely, convergence systems. However, as these components are integrated into one system, standardization of user interfaces among all components is progressively challenged.
Currently, users may employ a plurality of input devices to interface with convergence systems. For example, remote control devices typical of a television or VCR have been developed to be used with convergence systems. Additionally, user interfaces such as graphical user interfaces, are currently used to aid in assisting integration of components for convergence systems. For instance, a typical feature of both graphical user interfaces and remote control devices used in convergence systems is the ability to record command sequences and store them in a macro that is referenced by a macro element such as a macro key. A macro element or key allows a user to access a command sequence that is stored in the memory of the system as a macro. Typical macro elements are soft keys, such as icons, macro buttons, etc., accessible through a graphical user interface and hard keys, such as the buttons on a remote control device, keys on a keyboard, etc.
One example of a macro would be storing a sequence of commands such as opening a document, copying a portion of the text within the document, pasting the copied portion of text into another document, and saving the new document containing the pasted text. A user can create a macro to perform this sequence of functions and save the macro on the system where it may be accessed through a macro element such as a button or icon within the graphical user interface. Therefore, users can create multiple macros to increase efficiency and reduce mundane tasks.
As a further example, suppose a user wanted to create a macro using a universal remote control device for TVs, VCRs, stereos, etc. Current technology allows a user to select a sequence of commands using the remote control device and store the sequence of commands in a macro that is accessed by a macro key on the remote control device. For instance, a user may perform a sequence of commands to set up a VCR for recording a program that may include the steps of turning on the VCR, selecting a menu, and selecting a record function. Storing this sequence of events in a macro, and accessing the macro through the use of a macro key on the remote control device, simplifies the steps involved in programming a VCR which further allows a user to record programs more frequently due to the ease of programming.
Currently, convergence systems have the capability to autonomously record functions i.e. record macros using graphical user interfaces, record macros using remote control devices, etc., but these systems fall short of recording a sequence of commands initiated from any source within the convergence system. Further, current systems do not allow macros to be accessed from any usable macro element source (i.e., remote controls, devices, user interfaces, keyboards, etc.). For example, the user may wish to use a remote control device to create the VCR recording macro and macro button mentioned above, but would further want to select commands located within a graphical user interface containing an electronic program guide. Current systems do not allow users to record macros for remote control devices using command or functions native to graphical user interfaces. Additionally, current systems are unable to assign command sequences, regardless of the source, to any macro element (i.e., hard keys, soft keys, etc.) accessible by the system.
Therefore, what is needed is a method, system, user interface, software, and signal to allow sequences of commands, from remote controls and other sources, to be assigned to any user interface element.